Anglo-America
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Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language,[1] or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links. Anglo-America is distinct from Latin America, a region of the Americas where Romance languages (namely, Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French) are prevalent.[1]
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[edit] Geographic region
Anglo-America includes the United States and Canada in North America, and the term is frequently used in reference to the two countries together.[2] Despite having a French speaking majority, Quebec (highlighted in sky-blue) is often considered part of Anglo-America due to historical, geographical, economic and cultural considerations or simply because it's a part of Canada.
[edit] Anglo-American
The adjective Anglo-American is used in the following ways:
- to denote the cultural sphere shared by the United Kingdom, the United States, and sometimes English Canada. For example, "Anglo-American culture is different from French culture." Political leaders including Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan have used the term to discuss the "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom.
- to describe relations between the United Kingdom on one hand and the Americas, in particular the United States, on the other. For example, "Anglo-American relations were tense before the War of 1812."
[edit] Anglo-American ethnic group
As a noun, Anglo-American can refer to an English speaking European American and/or an English Canadian, sometimes shortened to Anglo.[3][4] This usage originated in the discussion of the history of English-speaking people of the United States and the Spanish-speaking people residing in the western U.S. during the Mexican-American War. This usage generally ignores the distinctions between English Americans, Irish Americans, Swedish Americans, German Americans, and other northern European descent peoples, comprising the majority of English-speaking Europeans in the United States and Canada. Anglo-Americans, like other English speakers, are traditionally Protestant with a large Roman Catholic minority.
In many spheres, Anglo has come to denote all English speaking people and their descendants, regardless of prior ethnic background, much like Hispanic refers to people coming from Spanish speaking cultures. Therefore, a person of Chinese descent who adopts the U.S. or Canadian American culture would have English speaking Anglo children (in contrast to Spanish speaking Chinese descent people who would be Hispanic). Anglo-American can refer to all those that came from countries that traditionally spoke English as a main language, as well as all those whose families have become mainstream English speaking people in the United States and Canada. Regardless of their ethnic affiliation in the US, all English speaking North Americans are seen as Anglo abroad.
[edit] Immigration
People from all over the world have immigrated to Anglo-America to have a better quality of life, find better employment, and escape famine, poverty, and conflict. Many ethinic groups, such as East Europeans, Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and from the Middle East all live in Anglo America today.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Anglo-America", vol. 1, Micropædia, Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th ed., Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990. ISBN 0-85229-511-1.
- ^ a b "North America" The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2001-5. New York: Columbia University Press.
- ^ Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachuetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster See original definition (definition #1) of Anglo in English: It is defined as a synonym for Anglo-American--Page 86
- ^ "Anglo - Definitions from Dictionary.com; American Heritage Dictionary". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Anglo. Retrieved 2008-03-29. "Usage Note: In contemporary American usage, Anglo is used primarily in direct contrast to Hispanic or Latino. In this context it is not limited to persons of English or even British descent, but can be generally applied to any non-Hispanic white person. Thus in parts of the United States with large Hispanic populations, an American of Polish, Irish, or German heritage might be termed an Anglo just as readily as a person of English descent. However, in parts of the country where the Hispanic community is smaller or nonexistent, or in areas where ethnic distinctions among European groups remain strong, Anglo has little currency as a catch-all term for non-Hispanic whites. Anglo is also used in non-Hispanic contexts. In Canada, where its usage dates at least to 1800, the distinction is between persons of English and French descent. And in American historical contexts Anglo is apt to be used more strictly to refer to persons of English heritage, as in this passage describing the politics of nation-building in pre-Revolutionary America: "The 'unity' of the American people derived ... from the ability and willingness of an Anglo elite to stamp its image on other peoples coming to this country" (Benjamin Schwarz)."
